The Onsong concentration camp was an

internment camp Internment is the imprisonment of people, commonly in large groups, without charges or intent to file charges. The term is especially used for the confinement "of enemy citizens in wartime or of terrorism suspects". Thus, while it can simp ...

in Changpyong,

Onsong Onsŏng County is a county ( ''kun'') in North Hamgyong Province, North Korea, located near the border with China. The administrative center is the town ( ''ŭp'') of Onsong. Onsong is the alleged site of the former Onsong concentration camp, n ...

County,

North Hamgyong North Hamgyong Province (Hamgyŏngbukdo, ) is the northernmost province of North Korea. The province was formed in 1896 from the northern half of the former Hamgyong Province. Geography The province is bordered by China (Jilin) on the north, ...

North Korea North Korea, officially the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the northern half of the Korean Peninsula and shares borders with China and Russia to the north, at the Yalu (Amnok) and T ...

. It housed approximately 15,000

political prisoner A political prisoner is someone imprisoned for their political activity. The political offense is not always the official reason for the prisoner's detention. There is no internationally recognized legal definition of the concept, although nu ...

s. The camp was officially known as Concentration Camp (Kwan-li-so) No. 12. Although information about the camp is scarce, two defectors have alleged the forcible suppression of a large

riot A riot is a form of civil disorder commonly characterized by a group lashing out in a violent public disturbance against authority, property, or people. Riots typically involve destruction of property, public or private. The property targete ...

in May 1987 at the camp. According to the testimony of Ahn Myong-chol, a guard at a similar camp, and Mun Hyon-il, a nearby resident, the riot started when one political prisoner at the camp killed a guard in protest of the guard's treatment of another prisoner; he was then joined by 200 others at the scene who overcame another guard. At the height of the riot, some 5,000 prisoners were openly in revolt. Reinforced from a second camp, guards proceeded to open fire on the rioters with

machine gun A machine gun is a fully automatic, rifled autoloading firearm designed for sustained direct fire with rifle cartridges. Other automatic firearms such as automatic shotguns and automatic rifles (including assault rifles and battle rifles ...

s, the defectors have stated. Reports on the number of dead vary; the defectors claim all rioters were executed, while a third defector previously involved with the North Korean security services describes being told of the execution of only a third. The camp was closed in 1989, a decision thought to be because of its proximity to the border with China. The prisoners were then transferred to

Hoeryong concentration camp Hoeryong concentration camp (or Haengyong concentration camp) was a prison camp in North Korea that was reported to have been closed in 2012. The official name was Kwalliso (penal labour colony) No. 22. The camp was a maximum security area, comp ...

References

External links

"Escapees from North Korean Hell"
Le Monde, May 14, 2001.
"The testimony of An Myong Chol"
Monthly Chosun, March, 1995.

Asia Times, November 3, 1999. Onsong North Hamgyong Concentration camps in North Korea Massacres in North Korea 1989 disestablishments in North Korea Massacres committed by North Korea {{Prison-stub

See also

References

External links